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William Thomas Fitzgerald
William Thomas Fitzgerald (13 April 1759 - 9 July 1829) was an English poet. Life Fitzgerald was the son of Colonel John Austen (or Anster) Fitzgerald of the Dutch service and Henrietta (Martin), daughter of an Antigua planter and sister of Samuel Martin, Secretary to the Treasury). Fitzgerald's own sister married barrister John Anthony Fonblanque. Fitzgerald was educated at Greenwich School, the Royal College of Navarre in the University of Paris, and the Inner Temple where his tutor was Vicary GibbsWilliam Thomas Fitz-Gerald -The Annual Biography and Obituary 1830 Longman Rees & Co, London, 1830 In 1782 he was given a position in the Naval Pay Office, where he worked for some 25 years.William Thomas Fitzgerald (1759-1829), English Poetry, 1579-1830, Center for Applied Technologies in the Humnities, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University. Web, June 20, 2016. Fitzgerald became subject to 'an asthma' for the last 30 years of his life and suffered from dropsy. These complaints made his movements lethargic. He married very late in life to Maria Howorth in December 1826. It appears only one of their children was born after this marriage. They were the parents of the Victorian painter John Anster Fitzgerald. He was a close friend of William Ward, 3rd Viscount Dudley and Ward, whose wife, Julia, also had Caribbean ties He was long a member of the committee of the Royal Literary Fund, becoming one of its vice-presidents. Fitzgerald died at Dudley Grove Paddington 9 July 1829 aged 70. Writing Fitzgerald has been described as "one of the foremost loyalist versifiers of his day".Timothy Jenks, 'Contesting the Hero: The Funeral of Admiral Lord Nelson', The Journal of British Studies, Vol. 39, No. 4 (Oct., 2000), p. 422. He wrote patriotic poetry during the Napoleonic WarsM. Clare Loughlin-Chow, ‘Fitzgerald, William Thomas (1759–1829)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008, accessed 6 Oct 2008. including Nelson's Triumph (1798) and Nelson's Tomb (1806). Byron William Cobbett nicknamed Fitzgerald the "Small Beer Poet." Lord Byron mentioned him in the opening line of his English Bards and Scotch Reviewers: ::Still must I hear? – shall hoarse Fitzgerald bawl ::His creaking couplets in a tavern hall.... Byron was mocking Fitzgerald's practice of reciting one of his poems each year, at the annual dinner of the Literary Fund, held at the Freemasons' Tavern. Fitzgerald replied to Byron, though not publicly; in a copy of English Bards he wrote: ::I find Lord Byron scorns my Muse, ::Our Fates are ill agreed; ::The Verse is safe, I can't abuse ::Those lines, I never read. This copy of the poem somehow came into Byron's possession, and he added a verse reply of his own, dismissing Fitzgerald as a "scribbler."Ernest Hartley Coleridge, ed., The Works of Lord Bryon, Vol. 18, 1898. Fitzgerald was also parodied in the Rejected Addresses of James and Horace Smith (1812); indeed, he suffers the sad fate of being remembered for inspiring the satires of Byron and the Smiths, rather than for his own writings. It is only fair to mention that Fitzgerald bore no ill-will to the Smiths; meeting one of them (probably Horace) at a Literary Fund dinner, he came to him with great good humour, and said, 'I mean to recite.... You'll have some more of "Gods bless the regent and the Duke of York."'Frank Thomas Marzials, Fitzgerald, William Thomas, Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder. Wikisource, Web, June 20, 2016. Publications *''The Republican's Picture: To be sung by every honest Englishman, to the tune of Derry Down or any other tune he pleases''. London: 1792. *''The Sturdy Reformer: A new song, exemplifying to the good people of England, the doctrines of the rights of man''. London: H.D. Symonds, 1792. *''The Tribute of an Humble Muse: To an unfortunate captive queen, the widowed mourner of a murdered king''. London: Hookham & Carpenter / J. Sewell / and H.D. Symonds, 1793. *''Lines on the Murder of the Queen of France; with admonition to the Infant King, Louis XVII''. London: Hockham & Carpenter, 1794. *''Nelson's Triumph; or, The battle of the Nile: A poem''. London: John Stockdale, 1799. *''Miscellaneous Poems''. London: Bulmer, 1801. *''Britons! To arms!. London: I. Gold, for James Asperne, 1803. *''An Independent Tribute to the Memory of the Right Hon. Willima Pitt (with engraving by Edward Orme). London: J. Nichols, for Edward Orme, 1806. *''Poems for the Anniversary of the Literary Fund, 1811''. London: J. Nichols, 1811. *''Poems for the Anniversary of the Literary Fund, 1813''. London: Nichols & Bentley, 1813. *''The Tyrant's Downfall / Napoleonics / The white cockade''. London: J. Nichols & Bentley, for Longman, 1814. *''Glee for the Anniversary of the Literary Fund''. London: Nichols & Bentley, 1814. *''Wellington's Triumph; or, The battle of Waterloo''. London: J. Hatchard, 1815, 1825. *''An Elegy on the Death of the Princess Charlotte''. 1817. *''An Address for the Anniversary of the Literary Fund''. London: Nichols & Bentley, 1817. *''Poems for the anniversary of the Literary Fund, 1819''. London: J. Nichols, 1819. *''The Literary Fund Patron, the King's Most Excellent Majesty: Anniversary poem, May 10, 1821''. London: J. Nichols, 1821. *''An Anniversary Poem for the Literary Fund Society''. London: J. Nicholls, 1825. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:William Thomas Fitzgerald, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, June 20, 2016. See also *List of British poets References External links ;Poems *"An Address for an Anniversary of the Literary Fund" (1808) *Literary Fund Address for 1818 *William Thomas Fitzgerald at Poetry Nook (86 poems) ;About *William Thomas Fitzgerald in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography *William Thomas Fitzgerald (1759-1829) at English Poetry, 1579-1830 *Fitzgerald, William Thomas in the Dictionary of National Biography Category:British poets Category:1759 births Category:1829 deaths Category:British male poets Category:18th-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:English poets Category:Poets